


Murder Lies and Orange Eyes

by imleadinginmyhead



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Demonstuck, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-06
Updated: 2017-09-25
Packaged: 2018-05-12 01:28:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5648761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imleadinginmyhead/pseuds/imleadinginmyhead
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Demons and humans have literally been at eachother’s throats for centuries. Ever since Her Imperial Condescension overtook the throne on Derse, hordes and hordes of bloodthirsty demons have been pouring into the human world. The Condesce wants humans to be extinct and demons to overrun the Earth, something about expanding her reign over more than one plane of existence. Any demon with enough sense to see the purpose of mankind in general have been secretly forming an alliance of sorts with what remains of the race. Meanwhile, the power-hungry and formidable demons who are on the side of the queen are starting their final assault against the human race.  They don’t stand a chance against the Condesce and her personal band of higher class demons and they know it. Despite this, demons who side with humans hold onto a tale that was passed down from around the time of the previous king of Derse. There is a rogue prince, no one knows where he is or what he looks like but the legend says that you know it’s the prince right before he kills you. Cheery right? This is a relatively post-apocalyptic story of supernatural caliber; it isn’t exactly going to be sunshine and rainbows here.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Hunter and The Hunted

Demons and humans have been at each other’s throats for centuries. Ever since Her Imperial Condescension overtook the throne on Derse, hordes upon hordes of blood-thirsty demons have been pouring into the human world. The Condesce, or HIC for short, vows for the extinction of humans and supremacy of the demon race to overrun the Earth. Her goal is to expand her reign over more than one plane of existence. Any demon with enough sense to see the use of mankind have been secretly forming alliances with what remains of the human race. Meanwhile, the power-hungry and formidable demons who are on the side of the queen are starting their final assault against the human race.  The rebels don’t stand a chance against HIC and her personal band of higher class demons, and they are well aware.

Despite this, demons who side with humans hold onto a tale that was passed down from the time of the previous king of Derse. There is a rogue prince, no one knows where he is or what he looks like, but the legend says that you know it’s the prince right before he kills you. (Cheery right? This is a relatively post-apocalyptic story of supernatural caliber; it isn’t exactly going to be sunshine and rainbows here.) This prince’s ancestor splintered off pieces of himself into a machine and a demon bastard under a very strong demon clan known as the Strider Clan. Though one of the younger demon families that have arisen in the past couple centuries, they are not a clan to be fucked with. No one knows exactly how they came about but they have not hesitated making a name for themselves in human and demon circles alike. To keep as much attention away from him as possible, the prince is stationed in the middle between the three Striders. His name is Dirk.

Dirk isn’t the oldest, but shows more tact than his guardian “Bro”. Unfortunately he also needs more energy to hide his essence than his little brother Dave.  With every demon he has faced he hasn’t let one go alive and they always give him a look of true fear just before they breathe their last breath. Unlike Bro, who looks almost annoyingly too much like Dirk, he doesn’t make a habit out of killing humans just for them being remotely in the way. In fact, the secret prince prefers to take their side from a distance and save their respective asses every once in awhile by killing off demonic reinforcements who could easily overpower the hunters’ search parties.

This being said, hunt is, as it is for every demon,  Dirk’s favorite sport. Humans are easy to scare in comparison to demons who tend to immediately attack whether or not they know that they are gravely outmatched in strength. But humans, they’re fun. Some of them can run close to twenty miles an hour, not to mention the screaming. They tear through the woods getting scratched by every branch they carelessly run into in panic and the screams they let out when the predator appears in front of them, the prey, are music.  Ah yes, screaming, a demon’s sweet serenade of a lullaby.  And the energy, oh that energy that comes from raw emotions. The raw fear that peels off of a person in ghostly tendrils as they run with their heartbeat pounding in their ears. Dirk is looking forward to getting that in less than a few minutes from the hunter standing in front of him. 

Tonight’s prey: a younger hunter, he can’t be more than 20 years old, with determination filled, emerald-green eyes.  He wears a loose fitting forest tone button up shirt to protect his arms and longer khaki colored shorts and combat boots; he almost looks like he’s from some tomb raider game.  He’s a pretty decent shot as he had already almost nailed Dirk in the head 6 times now. The only problem for the prey is that at full power Dirk’s faster than regular bullets and that seems to be all that little jungle boy has at his defense right now. His battered black Walther PPK was still pointed to the shade of an elm tree where the demon stood, aimed at the illuminated orbs half hidden by shades.

“It seems you’re almost out of bullets,” Dirk said as he stood out from the full coverage of the trees, his orange eyes dimly glowing and one fang showing ever so slightly underneath his smirk. “So what are you going to do hunter?”

The boy squinted at Dirk, refusing to move from his position. “What makes you think I’m out of ammo?”

“Because-“ he took another step and a shot rang out through the woods. Dirk stepped aside just in time to feel the wind rush by his left ear.

“Take one more step and I’ll blow your fucking cranium off, chap,” the hunter fixed his grip to be a little firmer and adjusted his aim to be on the same target as before.

“Like I was saying,” Dirk continued, his eyebrows raising in pleasant surprise with the hunter’s gall. “Because you smell of fear. You’ve only got one more bullet in that gun of yours and you may want to save it for when you can get a solid shot.”

The hunter’s eyes dodged to the side momentarily before setting themselves in a glare that could send shivers down any normal person’s spine. “What the bloody hell do you want?”

“I want to give you a chance at a good shot, but in order for you to get that,” Dirk took another step forward, allowing his demonic aura to seep out a little more than usual. The hunter proved that he could sense the energy by the glint of fear that came into his eyes and how he took a slight step back. Oh how fucking delicious. “You may want to get a running start.”

There was only a moment’s hesitation from the emerald eyed human before he took off into the woods as fast as his legs could carry him. There wasn’t as much panic as Dirk would have expected but just enough to make him easy to hunt. The demon chuckled lowly before flash stepping after him, quickly closing the space between the two of them and started calculating how to use his favorite tactics. There was a decent sized tree coming up on the left which would be excellent to ricochet off of, but he had to keep in mind that this hunter was probably the best gunner he had encountered so far and would have to avoid direct contact with that metal.

“Come on you can run faster than that can’t you?” Dirk said running alongside of the hunter who let out an appealing short yell in surprise before stumbling off in another direction. There was a bit more fear in his eyes that time which seeped out into the small burst of energy that came off of him. Dirk inhaled the exhilarating feeling that surrounded the trails in the air and followed once again.  They arrive at what appeared to be an abandoned building of sorts that the hunter decided to take some kind of cover in.  The demon could tell he was in there but not exactly where. This was a witch’s ground at one point, the protective magic was wearing off from lack of reinforcing but it was still strong enough to disguise whomever was inside.

Dirk did his best to try and sense if any other beings were around, and after deducing it was only the two of them in the local area, stepped inside slowly. The magic was stronger on lower levels than upper ones and the hunter seemed to know this as he remained on the first floor. Dirk took the stairs up anyway to get a better vantage point. At the very least, there were enough holes in the floor and creaking walls to cast the demon’s low growl throughout the building.

“Come on out little hunter. You can’t get a clear shot if you’re not even on the same floor as your target.” Dirk said teasingly, hoping to get more of a response than anything. He did hear the sound of an empty magazine falling to the floor to his left which signaled him to the dining room. He flash stepped over a large enough hole to be able to stick his head through to see the hunter fumbling with his pockets trying to find another clip.

“Bullocks,” he whispered softly as he fruitlessly searched through every single compartment.  He looked cute when he was flustered, then again, so do most humans.

“Boo,” Dirk said as he stuck his head through the hole in the ceiling, getting a significant scream of terror from his prey who fired a shot at the demon. He apparently faked not having any more ammunition and successfully shot a bullet right into the side of Dirk’s neck. With a hiss and growl, the Strider pulled his head out of the hole and stood up, placing one hand on his injury.  It throbbed and had some strange herbal scent to the smoke coming out of his neck. Then he broke through the second story floor instead, landing himself directly in front of the hunter.  Dirk pulled the bullet out of the side of his neck, casting the bullet to the ground. The blood flowed down his neck from the gunshot wound and began mending itself at an impressive speed. “You’re pretty damn slick, hunter. You got a name?”

“Jake,” the hunter smirked, blowing a bit of imaginary smoke off of the top of his gun. “Jake English.”

“Well Jake,” Dirk opened his arms up at his side and bowed slightly. “You successfully shot me. I gave you an opportunity and you definitely took it.”

“And who have I had the pleasure of putting one of my bullets into this evening?” The hunter asked, slightly adjusting himself to a comfortable sitting position.

“The name’s Dirk,” he said, crossing his arms and tilting his head slightly at Jake, sizing him up. “Your bullets pack quite a bite there, English.”

“I’m still in danger though aren’t I?” Jake laughed a bit nervously, dropping his gun on the floor next to him. “That was my last shot.”

“Really now?” Dirk smirked and crouched down, resting his elbows on his knees. He had thought that the chase was over but it could just be beginning. Not only was this Jake English in good physical shape but he didn’t look like the type to just give up so easily. He must have some other card up his sleeve.  “So what are you going to do about that? You don’t seem too scared.”

“I don’t have to do a damn thing,” Jake started with a semi-innocent look in his eyes which were soon covered by a glint and a slightly mischievous smile, “Mister Strider.”

Dirk straightened up once his last name was mentioned but before he could ask Jake a single question as to how the hell he knew who he was, he was knocked aside by an impressive force. Within seconds Dirk was shoved through one wall and slammed up against another, his ears ringing from the force of impact.  He could feel the wall seemingly come to life as enchanted cuffs emerged from the wall and wrapped themselves around his wrists.  As he inhaled to get back the wind that had been knocked out of him, his nose caught an all too familiar scent. His eyes shot open to be met by the piercing red eyes of his younger brother.


	2. Brothers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dirk gets a little tied up with the hunters and ends up a little worse for wear.

“Dave!” Dirk yelled barring his teeth, his ears ringing from the force of impact against the wall. Within seconds his vision cleared up to focus on his brother. “What the fuck are you doing?” Dirk’s eyes glowed a deep shade of amber, seething his demonic aura through his glare. Dave had his aviators clipped on his dark red t-shirt’s neckline so his own red eyes shone through the darkness.

“I’ve got to do this bro, I’m sorry,” was the only explanation Dave gave before an intense magical presence was felt through the hole in the wall. The bearer of this power was none other than what looked like a sixteen year old girl with similar eyes to Jake’s, only hers were swirling with tiny flecks of magic. She wore a wool skirt that came to mid-thigh and tights that reminded Dirk of the Wicked Witch of the East; he hoped that she was wearing them for ironic purposes.

“Hi there! You must be Dirk Strider.” The teenager said with a chipper tone of voice. Dirk had never seen a happy huntress –or in this case a witch- and was pretty sure she must have just been excited to have captured a demon. “You’re a lot easier to catch than your brother led on.”

“The one and only,” Dirk said with a snarl. “It’s amazing what you humans are capable of when you work alongside of my kind.” He gritted the last word through his teeth, shooting a glare over to Dave who was still holding his brother up against the wall by his neck.

“You can let him go Dave. He isn’t going to get out my bindings.” She walked forward lifting her hand towards the wall which obliged with sending a painful tinge of electricity through Dirk’s body. He could feel restraints around his neck and arms that seemed to create a seal of paralysis around his body.

“You got it Jade,” Dave said backing away attempting to portray his usual calm and cool demeanor, avoiding any kind of eye contact. Jade smiled politely to Dave then stood directly in front of Dirk.

“So what are we going to do with you?” Jade asked, placing one hand on her chin and wrapping her other arm around her own waist. Dirk remained silent with his eyes focused on Jade until Jake entered the room brushing a bit of debris off of himself. Jake was still breathing a bit on the heavy side from running for his life not a few minutes beforehand.

“I think I’m going to let the Vantases handle this.” Jade said squinting her eyes, drawing Dirk’s attention back to her.

“What? Jade why?” Jake asked with a hint of panic in his voice. His face looked as if she had just kicked a puppy in the side. Then again, Jake could be a puppy with those eyes. “They could kill him you know.”

“They won’t, Jake. They know what they’re doing.” Jade asked, raising both of her arms in front of herself as if she was conducting an orchestra. The shackles around Dirk’s arms detached from the wall and locked together behind him, along with a enchanted chain and choker to slide around his neck. The metal vines that were connected to the wall slid down, guiding Dirk to sit on his knees with his arms pulled behind him and his neck secured in front of himself. “Besides, this is the first demon we’ve been able to capture alive that we can actually get some information out of. We can’t get any out of Dave because he’s tight lipped and John made me promise not to even tell those two that he’s here.”

Dirk glared over at his little brother again, expecting some kind of explanation. The only thing he got was a shrug and, “He digs me.” Dirk let out an exasperated sigh and shook his head. Dave flirting with humans? Not surprising but considering his usual apathetic attitude, no being in general should be that into him. Then again, there’s the Strider charm. Humans tend to be pretty susceptible to that.

“Jade please,” Jake tried pleading again, going to reach for her arm. “He hasn’t done anything to-“

“Jake with an attitude like that you’re going to get yourself killed.” Jade pointed a finger at him and turned her head back to Dirk. “He may know who killed our Grandfather or better yet he could lead us right to the bastard. Not to mention he vaguely looks like the bastard who did it.”

Instead of trying to explain how he did not kill humans, Dirk smirked. It must have been Bro however many years ago. The name English did ring a bell when he had first heard it. If the great hunter who bro still has the scars from fucking around with is the grandfather of these kids; that at least explained Jake’s exceptional marksmanship.

“Dave, if they see you they’ll probably try to kill you. I’m going to go get the Vantas brothers,” Jade said quickly patting down her skirt. “Go tell John to turn the generator back on and stay out of sight. Jake, keep an eye on this guy.”

“You betcha Jade,” Jake said a bit dejected, letting his shoulders lower. Jade walked quickly out of the room with a small bounce to her step. Everyone went off to their respective tasks, leaving Dirk still chained to the floor with a less than pleased expression on his face.

“You listen to your little sister?” Dirk quirked an eyebrow. Humans had a funny reputation for trusting the more forceful people in their life instead of taking charge for themselves.

“Of course I do,” Jake said, taking out his pistol and reloading it. He had plenty of clips in his plethora of pockets, the sly bastard. “She has sound judgement, so she the plans and I shoot the scoundrels.”

“Sounds like a blast for you,” Dirk said, looking down at his own shackles. “How long does it take her to get the torture twins on my ass?”

“They aren’t exactly twins, but only a few minutes considering they’ve been in the area the past week or so. I’m so sorry about this.” Jake says, glancing over at Dirk’s wrists.

Dirk looked at Jake in confusion for a moment before bursting into a bitter laugh. “A human sorry about capturing and soon to be torturing a demon? You’re a weird kid.”

Jake just laughed a bit and scratched the back of his head. “I’ve been told I’m a bit of a loonie. I never really understood the whole ‘hate every demon because they’re all the same’. Humans don’t treat each other that way.”

“Humans were supposedly made in the image and likeness of God, according to some books.” Dirk mused. “Demons are supposed to be the embodiment of evil or something like that.”

“Not every human is good though. Some humans kill other humans for property gain or just for sport. So I don’t see why demons can’t be a mixture of good and bad too.” Jake said, glancing off towards the far wall and holstering his gun. He wasn’t completely naive but he did have an attribute of wishful thinking. It was a demon’s nature to be brutal and less compassionate than humans; they weren’t exactly made to be good. Despite his downplay of a demon’s nature, Jake still had his wits about him and Dirk could tell he wasn’t completely comfortable around the demon. Though his weapons were put away, he still kept one hand loosely over the grip just in case.

“They’re going to put you through hell and back, Strider.” Jake said with a serious tone. “I think that’s why I’m apologizing. They are extraordinarily brutal.”

“Well let ‘em at me. I can handle it.” Dirk said with a growl in his throat. He turned to the opening in the wall just in time to see three figures emerge from the darkness. One of them appeared to be even shorter than Jade while the other stood a mere half a head taller than her. The shorter one was cursing something about “fucking dipshit demons”, while the other chided him about language use.

When they cross the main threshold into the house, a low mechanical tone started and the whole building began to shake ever so slightly. Dirk could feel the magical barrier which he had played off as weak from vacancy growing stronger as metal walls began to slide up around the building. The floor shifted a little bit, dropping the section the demon was chained to about ten feet down below the ground level.

“A more proper welcome to the Harleybert hideout, Dirk Strider.” Jade smiled as the whole building lit up with industrial style lighting and the low hum of electricity flowed throughout the air. Oh fantastic, the head demon clan and the head hunter clan in one room. Harleybert wasn’t their actual last name, it’s kind of like back when the Lalondes messed around with the Striders. No, get your head out of the gutter. Not that kind of mess around, though they would toy with each other for energy purposes if necessary (or bored). As the Strilondes they worked very well. Dave and Rose played off each other like siblings as did Dirk and Roxy. They had a good run at first. A bit of tension came into the picture however, when Roxy took more of an unrequited interest in Dirk. Then Rose fell for a human turned vampire named Kanaya, and with Roxy being the only woman left in the Strider den, she left. The alliance still stands as an unspoken agreement to help each other should the situation ever arise.

“What kind of ass chafing demon is this?” Dirk was snapped out of his quick journey down memory lane by a strained voice coming from atop the hole. He glanced up to see a short, black haired hunter standing with his arms folded across his chest; he was probably the only being in the room that was in a worse mood than Dirk was.

The older one rolled his eyes with subtlety before speaking. “From what I can tell, Karkat, this is the demon you mentioned to us, Jade?”

“That he is,” Jade smiled. Just then a dog came through a doorway and sat itself right next to Jade. It was a decent sized white dog, which seemed to need Jade’s attention as it pawed at her skirt gently. Jade glanced down at it and smiled, reaching a hand out to pet it affectionately. “I’ve got to get up to my post so you two have at him. He won’t be able to give you trouble but if you need me I’ll be around. Let’s go, Jake.”

As Jade almost skipped out of the room with her dog close behind her, Jake gave Dirk one last almost pitied glance before following her out of sight. The demon was pretty sure he had never been looked at with pity and was unsure whether to take it as an insult or just naïve human weakness. Nonetheless, his attention returned back to the two beings that were standing above him. The shorter one had produced a sickle that was attached to a long chain and was starting to swing it back and forth slowly as the mild mannered yet probably worse hunter approached the side of the pit.  
“I am Kankri Vantas and it is a pleasure to meet you demon,” The voice rang through the air with a tone of condescension and a hint of sarcasm on the word ‘pleasure’. “If you cooperate with answering our questions truthfully and non-hesitantly, we will let you go with minimal injury.”

“And if I refuse?” Dirk asked tauntingly. He already knew the answer but it was always fun to see an egotistical human agitated with insubordination. Karkat spun the sickle around once and flung it down towards the demon, just grazing his left shoulder enough to draw a decent amount of blood.

“Then I’ll force it out of you, you blithering feculent shithole,” he shouted down with more volume than necessary. He yanked the weapon back upwards which cut deeper into Dirk’s flesh on the return trip.

“Now, the first question is who and what are you exactly?” Kankri started and pulled out a small book. Of course he would write down everything he heard. With humans, word of mouth only went so far but if there was a written account of anything –even if riddled with lies- it was more quickly adhered to. It was a similar concept to the commandments and the bible; so long as people can see a physical account of rules or regulations, they would more enticed to follow them blindly.

“The name is Dirk and I’m your worst nightmare,” Dirk said with a smirk. There was no way in hell he was going to give up anything to two scrawny excuses of hunters.

“Looks like we have a demon of lesser intelligence Karkat,” Kankri said snidely, jotting something down in his notebook. Karkat took another swing down with his weapon, this time it cut right into his arm, getting lodged in the muscle. It stung like a bitch. “If I were to explain to you how you are at a severe disadvantage in this situation, I feel like it would go completely over your head. We literally can hold your life in our hands and you refuse to cooperate.”

“It’ll take a lot more than feigned brains and weak brawn to get this beauty to talk,” Dirk said confidently. He wasn’t surprised at all when the sickle was ripped out, taking flesh and muscle tissue with it in a bloody mess. Dirk bit the inside of his lip stifling any sound of discomfort as he felt the blood flow down to the shackles around his wrist.

“Now because you didn’t immediately start screaming in pain you must be of some relative restraint and intelligence. Either that or you are unable to feel pain through your powers. What kind of demon are you?” Kankri asked without looking up from his notepad. Dirk made no answer and instead stared up at the two figures with his eyes glowing. By their demeanors, talking back with attitude will get them more pissed off but refusing to answer would hurry up their attempts to get anything out of him. He was pretty much immortal on human standards and his pain tolerance was extraordinarily high. All he had to do is tired them out and then take the time they spend resting to use his own energy to rest up.

“Say something or I’ll cut your head off you insufferable prick,” Karkat shouted as he tossed the sickle down and it landed uncomfortably close to his jugular. Dirk knew a direct slice like that would be a bitch to heal but if they really did want any information from him they wouldn’t completed off him just yet. The night was still young and unfortunately he was going to be in for a long haul.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to @yourelephantintheroomblr for being my editor.


	3. Curiosity

               Hours passed, at least 4 by the way Kankri was yawning as Karkat tossed the scythe down for another shot at Dirk.  If he was a human, he would have long since passed but they were able to gauge his durability accurately and prolong the torture for as long as they could keep up the interrogation.  Kankri only seemed to be put off from questioning when he got some blood on his own book thanks to a particularly aggressive back swing from Karkat. It seemed to be enough to make him tell Karkat to cease and how they were not going to get anywhere considering how tight lipped the demon was. He said something about returning later when Dirk had spent a decent amount of time to “reconsider assisted suicide”, and the two of them left the room.

               Every inch of Dirk’s body throbbed as he laid on the ground. He had stopped sitting on his knees after he was almost lifted off his feet by a blow that dragged him up from being latched underneath a rib.  His mouth tasted like iron laced with a thick layer of tar-like salt.  He could feel his regeneration going slower than he would have liked. More likely than not, his energy was at a lower capacity than he would prefer due to having any of his own locked inside of himself thanks to the bindings.  He was left alone with his thoughts for another period of time, focusing on healing and trying to find a way to get out eventually. Maybe next time the Vantas brothers came down he could play dead long enough for one of them to go and check on him up close and personal. Then he could drag out the energy and break free, just maybe-

               “Strider?” Jake’s voice echoed down from the top of the pit Dirk had been laying in a semi-conscious state for the past indeterminate period of time. He didn’t really want to talk to anyone considering his body now ached like he had been hit by an oversized mace. However, he was incapable of avoiding talking to a good natured, bored or for whatever else reason present human.  Of course, he could try playing dead now and put that afore mentioned plan into action, but that didn’t seem like the fitting thing to do just yet. This human could prove to be useful one way or another, he may even be able to get an ally. Without any hope of getting out of some kind of conversation the demon sat up, causing the chains to clink together as a means to let Jake know he had heard him.

               “I’d hate to be a bother, but if you gave them the information they wanted, they would let you go.” Jake stared into the darkness trying to catch a glimpse of Dirk’s exact location.  He couldn’t see him because the demon’s eyes were still closed and the room was too dimly lit for a human’s sight.

               “Doubt it.” Dirk said flatly, letting his words hang in the air for a moment. His voice was hoarser than he had expected, tainted from the usual suave tone because of the blood resting in the sides of his throat. “I’m a demon and you all are hunters. Whether or not crude and rude get the information they want from me, they’ll kill me when they’re finished.”

               “We could offer you protection, strike a deal of sorts like what John did for Dave, and keep you away from other hunters.” Jake’s voice sounded as if he was trying to sound rational but there was a hint of excitement or youthfulness behind it; he acted younger than he was.

               “What makes you think I need protecting?” Dirk smirked to himself.

               “We were able to catch you without the help of the senior officers,” Jake said with a playful grin on his face, to which Dirk responded with a slight eye roll. “I can’t really see you but I can imagine that the Vantases have done one hell of a number on you, mate. Honestly if you just cooperated-“

               “Why are you really here?” Dirk’s eyes lit up in the pitch blackness and squinted up at him. He could see Jake’s shoulders tense ever so slightly at the sight of the demon’s amber glow. “I’m sure you’ve got more of a reason to come down here than to make a half assed attempt at persuading a blood thirsty monster to lay back and open himself up like a book.”

               “To be honest chap, I don’t know,” Jake’s eyebrows furrowed as he crossed his arms over himself. “I’ve never really talked to a demon before.  I’m curious to say the least about your kind. Most of the time it’s the heat of battle and all demons want to do is gut me in one way or another.”

               “Most of the time the low life demons are just after blood,” Dirk said in a matter-of-fact tone. Higher demons like the Amporas would send mindless demons out after the humans to pick them off without getting their hands dirty.  The old aristocratic line had that tendency to prefer a hands off approach to getting the job done. “You don’t see more intelligent and powerful demons waltzing around in the open often.”

               “Low life?” Jake asked. “You mean you have a class system or something like that?”

               Dirk arched an eyebrow in bemusement. “You don’t know much about demon-kind, do you?”

               “Not particularly,” Jake admitted with a hint of shame in his voice. “I was quite the firecracker when I was younger and only paid attention when they were telling me how to give demons the ol’ one two. My grandfather believed learning how to shoot was the more important part of my upbringing anyway, so he never insisted on me paying more attention to the book end of things.”

               “So we’re just monsters for you to kill,” Dirk sneered and turned his head away. “I forgot that our destruction is more important than knowing what we actually are.”

               “You attack us,” Jake retorted with a hint of dejection. “You’re constantly out to kill us too, and this is our world you know. We were here first.”

               “Were you really?” Dirk said with more than a slight hint of disgust and started rubbing some of the dirt out of his shoulder with his thumb, the clank of his chains contrasting his low voice.  The deep gash that was there before had diminished to a shallow cut, but still filled in with blood quickly. “I won’t try to convince you that if you don’t fight back against us, we’ll leave you alone. Quite frankly, there are plenty of demons that wouldn’t mind if your entire race was wiped from existence.”

               A silence fell between them for a moment. Dirk could tell that some part of Jake seemed to be crushed or at least mildly injured by his words as his shoulders lowered as he crouched down at the mouth of the hole, hugging his legs tight to his chest. It was almost unbelievable to think there was a hunter who was disappointed by facing the reality of some demons’ opinions on the human race. This was a good way to get some kind of a truce going, maybe through playing a sympathy card or the offer of exclusive intel could get the kid to let him go; at the very least, he could let his guard down around the demon.

               “However,” Dirk’s voice changed into a cooler and almost wistful tone. “There was a time when demons and humans lived in harmony. Demons protected humans and humans showed demons how to heal the land, how to make life from nature; the world had great potential. Between the ambition of humans and the abilities of demons, we were on our way to making a great society.  Until, of course, two power hungry beings, one human leader and one demon leader, wanted this world all for themselves and decided to drag their citizens into the mess.”

               “Really?” Jake sat on the ledge, his arms hugged around his legs that folded his knees up by his chin. By his attentiveness to the conversation, Dirk could tell he had done some growing up since they last tried teaching him anything and he was willing to listen to at least some of the history of the world. No persuasion was necessary which the demon was silently grateful for; any extra usage of his energy could be more detrimental than effective.

               “Yeah,” Dirk looked back up to him. “And today there are demons like myself and my brother that go against Miss Queen Bitch’s idea of demonizing the world. We’d just end up destroying everything in the end.”

               “You have a queen?” Jake asked with surprise. “I thought you all operated in small groups.”

               “Technically we have a queen. She’s the one who declared war on the human race over a century ago.” Dirk kept his eyes locked on Jake’s own that were wide with wonder. “She overthrew the previous ruler by getting an army of equally ambitious demons behind her and placed the new policy of ‘kill anything that can’t beat you’. We’re even encouraged to kill our own kind just for getting more power.”

               “Doesn’t sound like you’re too fond of her policies.” Jake said with a slight smile.

               “I abhor them,” Dirk said quickly, clenching onto his arm harder.  His eyes focused on his own hand in the darkness, feeling anger building up inside of himself. “It’s one thing to kill to survive; to kill just for the sake of doing so, is disgusting.”

               Dirk paused, letting his anger subside slowly. He could feel some of Jake’s energy seemingly reaching down towards him. He couldn’t tell if it was that afore mentioned misplaced compassion or sympathy or even empathy. A defense seemed to be dropped ever so slightly enough that the tone of the room called for a gentle lightener; something to diffuse the tension in the atmosphere was in order. “Besides,” Dirk said with a slight smirk and reconnecting their eyes with a tone of playfulness. “When it comes to the human race, some of them –yourself included- are pretty damn good looking.”

               Jake stammered, trying to find some kind of response to the sudden flirtatious remark.  The tactic worked as Dirk could feel any stiffness in the air dissipate.  That vague hint of Jake’s energy began oozing off of him in gentle waves; it seemed open but not to the point of blind naiveté, and had an underlying tone of strength.  Something about it was almost welcoming in comparison to the other energies he had encountered throughout his existence.

               Jake sat in silence, his eyes low and deep in thought. “So,” he finally spoke, raising his head slightly above his knees and fixating his glance back in Dirk’s direction. “If you’re not with your queen, and you’re not human, where do you stand?”

               Dirk didn’t respond. He could tell Jake was in earnest due to the way his energy was flowing off of him. It seemed to have an openness and curiosity to it that was unlike any other human that he had encountered. Jake’s energy appealed to the demon through his words and presence; Dirk couldn’t tell if it was his need for more energy or not, but he nearly felt drawn in. The feeling made him want to open his own mouth and make the dumb decision of telling Jake exactly what he was in the demon world. Maybe Dirk was the one who should be on his guard.

               A barely audible screech pierced the air, waking Dirk from his temporary trance.  A foul sense of dread eased into the room which Dirk tensed up and focused his attention on the new presence that had suddenly appeared at the border of the hunters’ territory.

               “Devilfucking dickens, what the hell was that?” Jake shot up to his feet, his hand instinctively hovering over his gun holsters. “Love to stay and chat, Strider, but it’s about time I skedaddled to my post.”

               Before Dirk could get out a warning or even any kind of snide comment, the hunter was sprinting off out of view. He had appreciated this conversation at the minimal benefit that Jake’s energy was not guarded like the torture twins had been. He had been catching wisps of it throughout their discussion and was able to patch himself up enough to be comfortable. Thanks to that, the demon was no longer bleeding and only had a mild open wound on his left shoulder blade. Of course, that would do nothing to prevent the entire fortress from being as good as dead in a matter of hours if he couldn’t get out of the retraints.

               If his internal clock was still working properly, the attack began sometime after 3 A.M. Within minutes, the entire fortress was rudely awakened by the deafening shrieks of the “angels”. These creatures could more accurately be described by human terms as the light’s horrorterrors. “Angels of Death” was the full title bestowed upon them from human folklore. White and angelic in movement, but leaving a toxic cry that could drive a man insane, they flew about the skies near any large body of water. They did not feast on human flesh as most myths assumed as only the bones of their victims were ever found. Rather, their duty was to destroy the minds of the people that had been selected as their master’s next meal. As there was only one being in existence that could summon and control their hoards, Dirk immediately knew the demonic culprit who had begun the assault: the other prince. Dersite politics were tricky to say the least, the majority of things had been split into two planes: those who were with the queen, and those who were not. Since the separation of demon and mankind, there had been little outspoken opposition against her majesty, and no successful uprisings.  

Dirk gathered himself and stood, letting the bound chains on his body hiss with the magic they had been infused with. He had only hoped that hunter would have been delayed long enough to propose a deal of some kind to ask for the demon’s help, but the attack begun too soon. Not to mention, Jake definitely had a strong allegiance to the hunters he resided with. Now the ball was once again placed precariously in Dirk’s court. It was up to him to fix things that he was not responsible for messing up in the first place.

Normally, the demon would avoid instigating any type of confrontation, especially when it involved regal blood; should he lose or let anything slip past him, his cover could be blown. Purebloods always had a knack for seeing through the mask of obscurity he had meticulously crafted decades before. However, an assault like this was going to upset all of the plans Dirk has begun putting into place. If he was to wait out the assault and let the horrorterrors destroy the minds of each human there, there was only a slim chance he would be freed. The witch wasn’t tactless, so she must have placed some kind of insurance on her bindings. Most likely, only a human related to her by blood or herself could release him. He would be sentencing himself to a life of standing in a pit for as long as the incantations would last, waiting for the other prince to come and consume every being there. That prince was known for taking out “inconveniences” as he would call those who posed as a problem. It would also be following along with the trend of obtaining as much power as inhumanly possible.

Dirk heard a few human cries mixed in with gun shots and more unearthly screeching, slightly muffled by the structure overhead. Another option he could take would be to offer his allegiance to this band of humans, particularly to Jake. His energy would be the most beneficial, and if he appears to be taking the pacifist route that his younger brother seemed to be on, it could gain more trust from humans; furthermore, it could encourage more demons to start following him. As much as he tried keeping it under wraps, he always held the burning ambition to reclaim the throne that he found to be rightfully his.  However, if this demon was to even gain the slightest chance at obtaining any kind of allegiance from humans, he was going to have to act fast. Most of the compound would probably lose their consciousness within the first hour, and letting humans die isn’t exactly the best way to get them to like a demon.

Dirk mentally chided himself for taking so long to gather his thoughts as he took a deep breath and extended his consciousness out. Luckily, he had finally regained enough strength to do a slight mental projection to the hunter that had talked to him a few minutes before. He was able to pinpoint Jake’s consciousness and inconspicuously embed a splinter of his own soul into the back of his mind. Thankfully, the human was so physically guarded against the being and mentally focused on the sky demons circling above, that he was not aware of the presence now residing inside him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's block, college, and life have kicked my ass for too long. I'm going to be focusing more on writing frequently and working on resurrecting one of my favorite Homestuck AUs


	4. Deal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter in which I try to remember how to write.

 

Up on the second floor of the compound, Jake fired another blessed bullet at one of the horrorterrors, causing it to fall out of the sky with an earsplitting cry. Since he had arrived at his post, the numbers of demonic beings had only been increasing. Countless winged hell creatures flew overhead, filling up the air with a sense of dread and fear as they circled. Across from the hunter was his little sister; she was technically a huntress, but she focused more on becoming a witch as a means to have supernatural aid on the humans’ side. Jade always had a knack for witchcraft although it was frowned upon because of how closely it was linked with the demons they were trying to fight. The only reason her practice had not been forbidden was because of her impeccable marksman skills; this particular band of hunters would have lost a long time ago if it weren’t for the two sharpshooters that Mr. Harley left behind.

* * *

The previous leaders of this band of hunters were Jade and Jake’s grandparents, Joe Harley and Jan English. Whether or not they were directly related to them, neither of the young hunters ever found out, but it wouldn’t have been much of a stretch to see that they were from the same family. Jade and Jake never knew their parents because they had been killed in a demon attack before Jake was even 4 years old. Of the two of them, he had a better memory of what the their parents looked like, but considering they were usually out of the compound and the kids were safe inside, even then neither of them were around the great hunters much.

The guardians that took over their upbringing were exceptional hunters who also believed in using the supernatural to their advantage. Jan had a particular knack for witchcraft which normally would have been considered taboo; however, if Joe heard someone talking poorly about Grandma English they would have hell to pay. Grandpa Harley, as most of the base had called him, was an incredible marksman. He never missed a shot and found joy and sport in hunting demons, a jovial fellow who was not to be trifled with. As far as Jade and Jake knew them, the two were very close but no one could directly pinpoint the nature of their relationship. Nonetheless, Joe died a few years later in a hunting accident and Jan passed during the previous winter due to health complications. This left the hunters as a group of poorly organized humans who operated off of blind trust in brute force and superstition.

* * *

“Gadzookes, Jade,” Jake remarked, keeping an eye on the sky. “Aren’t these the same blasted things that took out Pearl Ridge?”

Jade took a clean shot from her sniper before responding, taking a sharp exhale to steady her nerves. “And over 20 other shore bases before we started relocating more inland. I don’t know why we even bother considering the nearest river is two miles away.”

“What on earth could be bringing them so far inland? I thought they were oceanic demons.” Jake shuddered before taking aim at another low flying hellion angel. Though he didn’t pay much attention when he was lectured on different types of demons and how they operated, he remembered the “angels” that would wipe out coastal civilizations, leaving nothing but bones and decay behind them. It was a hopeless sight when Jake had gone with a rescue team to try and salvage what they could from a neighboring base that had been attacked and came upon nothing but carnage.

Between shots Jade continued the dialogue. “Maybe that’s the reason the previous hunters’ tribe vacated so quickly; I knew something was wrong with this place and you sensed it too! The superiors should have listened to me, but nooooo. No one listens to a witch,” Jade fired another shot, then leaning in from the window to reload her ammunition.

“It’s hogswallop!” Jake hated how most hunters discounted nearly everything his sister said, unless of course it was in agreement with their superiors. The team was led by two senior hunters who led alongside of Jake and Jade’s grandparents. Mostly superstitious, they would ignore the sound tactics that Jade presented, thinking that she was under the influence of a darker power. Jake would try and back her up, but he never was one for conflict. If given the chance, he could be persuasive, but going against the elders wasn’t something he could do easily. After the seniors would rebut both him and his sister, considering their “untainted” minds superior, Jake would back off and encourage his sister to do the same; he wasn’t the strongest of character so would never back her up as much as he felt that he should.

He couldn’t help but be bothered by his own shortcomings. He was the older brother and should be able to stand up even or himself better than he did. It’s not like he enjoyed being walked over or was completely oblivious when it was happening, he just always felt preemptively defeated when it came to having a different opinion than the more experienced hunters.

Speaking of hunting, he should be focusing better on the creatures outside instead of getting lost in his own train of thought. However, just as he dropped his own internal dialogue he sensed another on the edge of his awareness. It felt as if it was a person trying to talk to him but far enough away that he didn’t catch onto it at first. The voice wasn’t coming from around him anywhere but inside of his own mind. He vaguely remembered that the creatures could get into someone’s mind if they were weak, but Jake was sound of mind and body, and recalled they didn’t add a second voice into one’s head but rather manipulated one’s own conscience. The harder he focused on the voice, the further he felt from the reality around him; Jake’s mind seemed to be drawn to it as it seemed less malicious and more persistent than anything.

“Jake, quiet down for a hot second and listen to me.” The voice finally sounded clear enough for him to realize it belonged to the demonic acquaintance that resided in the pit downstairs. He caught the edge of exasperation that seeped out of the tone in the words. “Let me help you.”

“Strider?” Jake muttered to himself. He was relieved that the presence did not belong to one of the creatures outside and let out a short sigh. Jake quickly glanced over to his sister to make sure she hadn’t heard him talk to himself just now. Luckily, Jade was so focused on the sky overhead that she hadn’t so he returned his attention inwards.

“Finally,” there was a brief pause and Jake felt a fluctuation in part of his own energy, odd but maybe that was just what happened when a demon entered a person’s consciousness. “I should applaud both you and your sister for how strong you are. Between her bindings and your mental guard, I’ve almost broken a sweat down here trying to get into your head.” The voice dropped most of the agitation and continued with a short laugh. “I was convinced I was too weak to even get through to you.”

“Honestly, I would prefer to have my mind uninhabited by any kind of creature aside from my own consciousness, thanks very much.” Jake responded, trying to split his attention between his mental conversation and keeping the base safe. He took a few more shots, ducking out of the direct sight of a few of the creatures before giving more of his attention more to the being in his head.

“You can’t beat those things by just shooting at them,” Dirk projected into the hunter’s mind. “That’s more futile than a two year old would have on moving a boulder.”

“What are you on about?” Jake shook his head before lining his sights up again.

“No matter how many blessed bullets you have in that gun of yours, they’re going to keep coming. You have to destroy the source before each of your precious comrades literally lose their minds.”

“And how the bloody hell do you expect me to do that?” Jake shouted as he shot another one out of the sky. “None of us can even leave this building without opening ourselves up to a vicious overhead bombardment.”

It was thoroughly apparent to both parties that it would be a suicide mission for the hunter to vacate the building with absolutely zero cover. Even if they were to try and protect one scout to leave the building, he would easily be taken out by the sheer number of “angels” soaring overhead.

“You can’t,” Dirk said in a matter-of-fact tone. “But I can.”

Before Jake could respond, Jade snapped him back to attention through taking a shot at another creature in the air and pulling herself behind the coverage of the wall to avoid getting grazed by one of the wing fragments. She was panting heavily and had a slightly pained expression on her face. Jake’s eyes could pick up on a wisp from the Horrorterror’s wing that still lingered near her and seemed to disappear towards her own body.

“Look around you,” Dirk coaxed, trying to regain the majority of Jake’s attention. “Every single one of these people in here will die if you don’t take out the angels’ master.  You’ll run out of ammo and each of your minds will rot away from those shrieks that have already penetrated your sister’s and a few other hunters’ heads.”

“That’s a bunch of malarkey if I ever heard it,” Jake said, trying to put off the slight change in demeanor he could see in Jade. The hunter scanned the inside of the room and caught sight of one of the older hunters sit down at the window, clutching at his head. The same older man had a small trail of drool coming out of his mouth as he began hyperventilating but before Jake could try and shake him out of it, another Horrorterror’s cry filled the air.  At that sound, the alertness in his eyes faded to a dull glaze and he sat there staring down at his own hands. Jake took another shot in the air as a cover before running over to the other hunter and placing a hand on his shoulder, trying to rouse him. After getting no response after a few more shouts, Jake returned back to his post hearing more hellish screams filling the air. Each sound from the cursed creatures seemed to grate more and more on Jake’s very being and he could feel a weakness and exhaustion starting to pass over him.

“I know you see what’s happening around you. Let me go face the one pulling the strings; I’ve dealt with him in the past and I can stop the attack.” Dirk continued, using his own energy to try and guard Jake’s own mind. He could feel the connection between the two of them faltering ever so slightly which pushed him to move quicker with his sense of urgency. The demon received no audible response, but he could tell that he had the hunter’s attention if not his trust just yet. If Jake was going to trust him, he was going to have to give more information. “This demon is on the side of the queen, the one I hate. If you’re worried about me joining forces with him, you don’t have to; I would never take his side. Besides, I feel as if I owe you for not shooting me in the head earlier.”

“I’ve hardly had any hand with that, Strider. You survived the twins on your own,” Jake aimed at another flying creature but didn’t fire. He witnessed more angels coming in from the North to fill in any gaps made by the ones that he had just destroyed. With his attention drawn to those, another screeched just above the window Jake was crouching at, tearing into his mind.  The creature made a more aggressive assault on the fortress itself, slamming its ethereal being against the building causing the entire structure to shake. Jake shouted with the pain and fell forward on his knees, his vision slightly blurred and his balance thrown off.

“Strike a deal with me, Jake,” Dirk’s voice came like a whisper, dimmed by the sound of his ringing ears. Both of them were strained in their attempts to keep up the connection between the two beings. “Let me go, and I will not only save your comrades, but I will remain your ally for as long as you wish.”

Jake’s vision blurred and he saw the edges of it dim before he shook his head in an attempt to steady himself. Another shriek that echoed through the night sky and a crash against the building from one of the creatures ramming into it cut off Dirk’s connection.

* * *

Back down in the cellar of the hunters’ hideout, the demon’s energy was returning but not nearly fast enough to keep himself and a human afloat. He was trapped in a prison with no immediate chance of escape because the bindings were too strong for him to destroy on his own. If his last-ditch effort to make a deal with Jake failed, he would have to wait until his little witch of a sister dropped dead. The demon didn’t particularly care for her, but having his own little brother, he could only imagine the detriment it would be to negotiations with the hunter. If Jake lost Jade, that would make him much more susceptible to the hellion angels’ cries and he would probably be dead or at least lost before Dirk would get to him. The way the spell had been cast would ensure that they would remain active for at least a few more hours after she died; they were essentially independent of her power if the time came. In addition, if he was still bound by the time the prince reared his head to collect his spoils, there’s not a single chance in hell that he would be able to defend himself.

Dying in such a pathetic way was not Dirk’s idea of a good time. He was pulled from his musings by the sound of machinery being kicked into gear as the pit he was in began shifting. A tremor coursed through the floor and it began a slow ascent; looks like something Dirk had said sunk in well enough that Jake was going to give him a chance. Once his shoulders cleared the ground level, the gears stuck in place. Dirk glanced across the dark room to see Jake’s figure lowly outlined by the light from up the stairs behind him, his left hand clutched onto a large switch on the wall that was just short of the upright position. The demon’s vision was able to reveal that the hunter’s ears were bleeding and his eyes were beginning to take a distant appearance, as if he was entering a mild trance. Jake did not have much time left before he would lose his own mind to the hellion angels.

“Do you promise not to harm any of us?” Jake said in earnest through a rasp in his voice. He tried to steel his nerves between fear of making a mistake and the overpowering hopelessness that he felt for having to turn to a demon. He knew his own limits all too well though, and the safety of the people he lived with was more important to him than pride.

“You have my word that I will never harm you and I will protect those dear to you,” Dirk replied, his eyes glowing amber and locked onto the human’s own emerald ones.

“Then please,” Jake dropped his arm to his side, taking the switch the rest of the way up and letting his arm fall to his side. The floor moved again so that it was flush with the rest of the cellar as Jake approached the demon. With each step the hunter took towards the demon, he seemed to stand a bit straighter and his eyes became clearer. Jake stopped short of the demon, keeping a decent amount of distance between the two of them as the floor underneath Dirk’s feet. Once again that strange and intense draw that Jake’s energy contained kicked up between the two of them as the human extended his hand. “Help us.”

Timed perfectly, the chains around Dirk’s neck, wrists, and ankles, fizzled out and broke off, landing on the floor with a clamor. The demon took in a deep breath, taking in the freed air around his head. His body was already starting to feel the freedom of his own power course through his body, but he had to guard himself against instinctively taking Jake’s energy for his own. The demon approached and extended his hand to the hunter, taking the one already outstretched. “Deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I find that writing and me only works with certain background noise. Interesting self-awareness that I never took the time to figure out. Who knows when the next chapter is going to be but here's to making it less than a year since the last update.  
> Dust off the cobwebs and write a decent action scene.


	5. Entrapment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake isn't hopeless, but he has no faith in himself.

Once their hands made contact, Dirk felt Jake’s own energy flow between the two, surging into the demon’s circuits nearly wiping out his senses. He hadn’t realized how desperately he needed energy, nor did he expect the deluge that would ensue through mere physical contact. The wave was intense for a solid two seconds before he was able to ground himself and reassess his surroundings. Jake was looking at Dirk with a wide-eyed expression, pulling his hand back and glancing at it quickly before questioning the demon. “Gadzooks Strider, you’re like a live-wire. What on Earth was that?”

“The pact,” which was one of Dirk’s classic half-truths. Unbeknownst to Jake, he had solidified the splinter he had projected before as a means to get easier access to the hunter’s energy and keep a better eye on him. Jake had easily become a valuable piece in Dirk’s current plan, so he wasn’t about to let such an asset go to waste. Using the connection he strung between them, he quickly scanned Jake’s essence to make sure that there was no damage done by the Horrorterrors flying outside. There was a ghosting of their influence that he could tell and it would only get worse with time; he was going to have to move and move fast. Dirk could also catch a bit of hesitation in Jake’s body language as he was eyed down by the supernatural being, but not a complete lack of trust.   _Good enough_ , Dirk thought to himself decided to take it as a sign to enact Phase 1 of the strategy he cooked up during his confinement.

The demon motioned for the hunter to head back up to the main level, devising the course of action he needed to take next. “Whoever is still conscious and movable, get to safety. Your best chance is underground, there’s no easy access for them to get at you if you're within the thickest walls of the compound. Once you get everyone down there, you can have your witch set up proper barriers.”

 "She's my sister not just a witch," Jake muttered quietly, but made no other verbal response at first. His energy seemed conflicted and swirling around him like his thoughts surely were. With each step they took back up to the surface, he kept doubting the pseudo deal he had made. He didn’t feel any impending danger with the demon by his side, in fact he felt safer. However, the whole concept of what he had done was reckless and everyone was bound to give him shit for it if they should ever find out. If hunters had one rule, it was not to get involved in making deals with demons. History proved that it always ended in more deaths and betrayal. The other hunters that lived there hardly ever listened to him anyway, and breaking one of the main rules was not exactly the best way to put trust in his abilities. “I’m a hunter, who just made a pact with a demon. Do you think they’ll even listen to me?”

Dirk took a mental note of what kind of internal discourse must have been going down in the hunter's head for the few seconds they had been walking in silence. He was a lot more alert of his own position than an average human would be, too much for his own good at that. “They don’t have a choice, and you should make sure that they understand that. If they don’t listen to you, they’re as good as dead.” Dirk said when they reached the top of the stairs, keeping himself out of the sights of any other hunter. “Besides, they don’t know that and don’t need to just yet. I won’t tell on you.”

Making their way towards a back entrance to the compound, Dirk faced Jake seeing a down-turned expression on his face. He wasn’t in danger of losing his consciousness or deeply affected by the hoards just yet, so it must have been something else. From the short amount of time that Dirk had been interacting with Jake, he was starting to understand his disposition more and more. He was at a disadvantage with these creatures because he already doubted his abilities for the most part. If Dirk’s plan was going to work, he needed Jake to push past himself. “Do you want to help them?”

“Yes of course, I just-”

“That doubt isn’t entirely coming from you, it’s from them.” Dirk pointed upwards alluding to the creatures that were still being shot at keeping his eyes on Jake, who was starting to experience the first stage of the effect horrorterrors had on their victims. They would feel drained and then doubt any of their capabilities to fight, eventually leaving them as relatively mindless human beings too discouraged to move and preemptively giving up on survival.  That despair and annihilation of hope was the way the monsters' master would be able to conquer large groups of humans without having to break a sweat. “These people need you. Right now you’re the only one who can save these hunters. I know you can handle this, Jake.”

Jake stood quietly in thought for a moment before shaking his head to get himself out of his thought pattern and meeting Dirk's eyes. “Golly, I guess you’re right. I have to do something don’t I?”

Dirk smirked at the answer, satisfied with the subtle change that settled in Jake's demeanor. “Follow the plan. I’ll be back as soon as I finish things.” Dirk kept his gaze on Jake for a moment, making an unspoken promise to come back. He was never one for watching out for anyone else’s back aside from his own. However, there was something underneath the surface of his own awareness that he was going to have to keep an eye on. Now was not the time for those unproductive thoughts, so the demon took his exit, flash stepping out of the compound and heading towards the sea.

 

* * *

 

 

Jake wasn’t a fool, he didn’t blindly trust Dirk. He was a demon after all who had just been tortured by the same hunters that he was supposedly going to save now. However, Jake had no choice and he knew it all too well. Dirk could run off into the woods, leaving him and his people behind to be eaten alive by the hellion angels overhead. Or even worse, he could team up with whomever this unseen enemy was and return with his own legion of hell creatures. Even with this awareness, he felt like he could trust the demon. Something in his energy, underneath that cold exterior that he manufactured for himself, seemed calming and secure. Maybe it was a constant grounding that came with Dirk’s disposition in the first place, or maybe he was some elemental demon who was actually made out of stone or metal. In either case, he didn’t carry malice. Jake was never one to be confident in his intuitions, but his grandmother had always told him that if he had an unshakable feeling in his gut about anything or anyone that he should listen to it.

That intuition told him that he should trust that Dirk was going to return after taking care of the demon that launched the assault. Even so, there was something with the pact that Dirk briefly mentioned that was off, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he had done something aside from just getting a taste of Jake’s energy. He was left to muse more about this later as he spotted Jade sitting with her back against the wall underneath the window she was previously shooting out of. She wasn't moving, he couldn't even tell if she was breathing anymore and it set any of his previous musings completely out of his mind.

“Jade!” Jake yelled as he ran over to her, landing unceremoniously on his knees in front of her to check for any injuries. Aside from some rubble strewn in her messy hair and a few scratches, she didn’t have any horrendous wounds which set his mind at ease for a moment. Then he remembered Dirk's words and how the angels preyed on the minds of their victims, not the bodies. “We have to go. We need to get everyone downstairs and try to hold out there until the infernal creatures stop flying around. If you put up a ward of some kind in the basement, I think we’ll be able to hold them off for a bit.”

“What’s the point?” Jade said, barely glancing up at him. Her eyes were tired and filled with despair and even started filling up with tears. “We’ll die anyway.”

The words seemed to echo in the air around the siblings, nearly petrifying Jake in his place. “No, no, Jade. Don't think like that.” Jake said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. The mere contact he extended towards her seemed to get more of her attention as the severity of her own words finally hit her, showing as tears starting to well up in her eyes. “You’re not alone Jade, I promise I can get you out of here. You just have to trust me and have a little bit of hope.”

“Hope?” She said, her eyes overflowing as if a dam had broken into rubble. “Jake everyone’s going to die and we can’t do anything! How can you possibly have hope? Why does this have to happen to us?” She started breaking down in Jake’s arms. He had never been the best with people crying but Jake knew this was the effects of the Horrorterrors still filling the outside with their screeches. He grabbed onto Jade, quietly asking her to hang-on to him as he lifted her up off the ground. She clung to him, her sobs partially muffled in his shoulder as he gently stood on his feet and made his way towards the entrance to the cellar storage room.

Jake could remember the amount of times he had carried Jade around like this when they were younger. She had been a firecracker when they were kids, quick to excitement good and bad. When their grandfather passed away she cried all the time because of how much she missed him. She would weep about how she wished she could stay with him and how it wasn't fair that he would leave everyone behind. Time passed on and she was able to come to terms with her grief, and grow to understand what it meant for someone to pass away. She barely cried when their grandmother died because of how much her coping and general disposition had changed.  It had been years since he had even seen her cry at all, and he found himself to be the one quicker to tear up as the years went on. The two of them were quite the pair, backing each other up the best that they could and being the only family either of them had left.

As he approached the entrance, John called out to him, running from the opposite side of the compound. “We’re running out of ammo and I can’t hear shit because Dave’s got my ears on lock-down, so if you have anything to tell me, tell him.”

As if summoned by his own name, Dave materialized from behind John. He had most likely been standing in the nearby room but it always looked as if Dave was just sliding in and out of places. “I stopped time around his ears. He hasn’t heard much past the first wave,” Dave said, reaching up one hand to hover over John’s ears and taking one of the cog-like images out.

John picked at the ear that was free for a second, before looking at Dave. “Alright scratch that, I can hear you now that mr uncool kid has taken one of the earplugs out.”

“You’re welcome, Egdork.” Dave said with a roll of his eyes under his shades, before turning his head slightly towards Jade before continuing. “She’s taken one hell of a hit. Was she at the window this whole time?”

“Since the beginning of the attack,” Jake said, adjusting his hold on her so he had a more secure grip. She made a slight noise, but no protest to the shift as her general awareness was slowly decreasing. Even though she wasn't as exposed as she had been in her previous position, her mentality seemed to maintain a slow decline. “We have to get everyone downstairs and barricade the entrance. If we can wait out the attack without anyone losing too much more of their minds, I think we’ll be able to make it out of this.”

“I was wondering if you would pick up on that shit.” Dave said, keeping his lips in a straight line but letting one of his eyebrows quirk over the top of his shades. It wasn’t too far of a stretch for Jake to see the relation between the two demons.

“Believe me I didn’t figure this out on my own.” Jake shook his head and continued without giving Dave a chance to question. “I need you two to help me get everyone to safety. Dave, tell John to find who’s still alive and get them downstairs. Take Jade and make sure she doesn’t hear anything else.”

Jake paused, still holding Jade in his arms feeling partially useless that he had let her get so affected by the demonic influence. Glancing at the cog that was still around John’s other ear, he decided to pitch another idea. “I don’t know if you can stretch your abilities across more than one person but please try.”

Dave reacted with nothing more than a quick nod of the head. “I can reverse the damage yeah,” Dave said, reaching his hand over Jade’s tear streaked face. A small red cog-like symbol appeared over Jade’s ears like a pair of earbuds in a similar fashion to the way John’s looked. They were more intense and were turning in a counterclockwise direction. “She should come out of it pretty good. She’s a witch after-all so she can put charms on herself to make sure there’s no residual bull shit.”

“Thank you,” Jake said earnestly as Jade groaned slightly before slowly opening her eyes. 

“Jake?” Her voice was more level, not nearly as upset as it was before. It sounded similar to when she would sleepily ask him why he was up so early back when they used to sleep in the same room

“I’m here Jade,” he replied, his voice soft and his arms tightening around her slightly. She looked at him, her eyes themselves were much clearer even though they were half lidded still.

“What was your plan again? I don’t know what the hell got into me.” She shifted a bit signaling for Jake to put her down to see if she could try standing on her own. She wasn’t too off balance, but still needed to hang onto his shoulder using her other hand to rub the back of her neck. He looked at her with concern, glad she was conscious again, but aware that recovery from the effects of the horrorterrors was going to take a bit more time; time that they didn’t have.

“You need to get to the basement and set up wards so the others are protected from the effects of the angels. If everyone gets down there and stays out of earshot, we will be able to wait them out.” Jade listened to his words and quietly nodded her head. She wasn’t entirely sure if the idea would work but trusted Jake whenever he presented plans. He was thankful that she put so much faith in him, even though he thought it was unfounded. He turned to Dave who was standing next to the two of them looking as passive as ever.  “Can you help Jade downstairs? I need to get the other survivors and bring them into the safe zone.”

“Safe zone.” the demon repeated, with a certain tone. It was as if he was weighing the phrase with how safe it could actually be. “I like it,” Dave decided, scooping Jade into his arms smoothly. He held her as if she was as light as a feather and showed no strain on his face, while Jade fussed and tried to tell him that she was well enough to walk on her own. The demon made a very unconvinced sound that he had heard her, waiting for her to stop kicking around. Jake couldn’t help but envy the supernatural strength that seemed to come with being a demon. If he was a bit stronger physically, maybe he would have stronger determination when it came to holding his ground on certain things. Even so, he decided it was not the time to focus on that; he had a base to save.

Jake gave a quick salute before turning around and heading to the opposite side of the compound to look for the other hunters. John followed behind him, easily keeping up with Jake. The two of them hadn’t grown up together as their families were a part of different bases, but the rumor was that they were somehow related. Jake wouldn’t have put it past them considering their similar features, black hair and a need for glasses around the same magnification. Between the two of them, Jake was a lot more active physically from mere enjoyment of adventuring off on patrols instead of setting traps for demons and humans alike. In the meantime, John was notorious for pulling a prank or five on at least every single person in the fort, and was very good at catching demons off-guard thanks to his more air-headed disposition.

“So what’s the plan?” John asked once they got to the main section of the fort, he scanned the room with his eyes, stopping his path to stare out the windows for a moment.

“We have to get everyone downstairs. Tell Dave, if you see him before I do, to take any downed hunter that still has a heartbeat and get them to the basement.” Jake would have liked to involve more people in rescue attempts but he didn't want to risk more people being exposed for too long. The people that were best disposed to handle Jake's rescue mission were John and Dave. Dave didn't seem to be affected by the shrieks of the horror terrors in the slightest, which was probably due to his demonic nature being immune to lower level creatures' attacks. John was protected by Dave's powers, so he was less likely to take a bad hit, and he had been also entirely shielded until now.

“You got it man,” John smiled and gave a firm nod before heading over to a group of hunters and pointing towards the cellar entrance. Jake smiled, making a mental note that he definitely had to thank John later and jogged over to one of the ammunition boxes they kept on the main floor and picked up another round to load into his gun, just in case he was going to need it later. As much as Jake had been pegged for being oblivious to most things, didn’t mean he wasn’t prepared. Upon checking another one of the rooms, he came across a group of hunters that were just a bit younger than him, huddled in one of the nearby corners.

“You three need to get downstairs,” Jake said, walking over and reaching out to help each of them to their feet. They seemed slightly dazed but for the most part still cognitive, giving Jake a hint of relief.

“But the angels-” one of them started to protest just as another shriek pierced through the air, causing them all to instinctively cover their ears as fast as they could move. Jake could hear his heart racing as he waited for the slight ache in his head to subside, the teens looked at him with wide eyes filled with concern. His ears were ringing just enough to muffle any quiet noise and could feel something damp slowly seeping down the side of his jaw.

“They will leave, they can’t get into the base.” Jake said trying to explain the logic behind his directions as they slowly uncovered their ears. He repositioned himself behind the group to start herding them towards the cellar, or “safe zone”, as he continued.  “They think like actual predators. If they have nothing to chase or fight, they’ll lose interest and fly away. But you all have to get safely underground and stay with Jade. She’s going to cast a protection that will ward them off.”

“Are you sure this will work?” One of them stopped behind his group, causing the other two to turn and face Jake with the same question sitting in their eyes.

“It’s our only chance. You have to trust me.” Jake said, dodging directly answering the question. He did believe Dirk to a point, that they would leave if their master was gone, but if Dirk failed, then the whole base could be trapped in the basement until they die out from starvation or worse. However, his answer seemed to be good enough as they nodded and kept close to each other as they headed off to the cellar.

“We have to fight! If we just hide underground, the creatures won’t leave overhead.” Jake overheard Karkat's unmistakable voice arguing with John. He quickly ran up the stairs to try and stop the commotion before it escalated too much. John had a semi-giving up look on his face, gesturing at the group standing in front of him. These kinds of confrontations always threw Jake off. Karkat was pissed, as usual, still standing with his brother and another hunter named Kanaya. She always watched out for Karkat, acting the the mother figure he should have had growing up. Every time he had returned from the field or from interrogating a demon, Kanaya was always the one to help him clean himself up. She also was not a huntress to be taken lightly, known to have faced off against a hoard of demons with nothing more than a chainsaw and her favorite lipstick and coming back with no severe injuries.

Jake's respect for the more experienced and war ravaged hunters always made him want to quiet down and listen to whatever they had to say. However, his respect for them also translated into wanting to make sure that everyone make it out of the attack alive. “The angels get into our minds by screaming. If we get downstairs, they’ll eventually leave because they won’t have ‘prey’ to hunt down.”

Kanaya looked at Karkat who just rolled his eyes in response. Kankri stepped forward and interjected. "I feel I should jump in here at this moment, before this escalates any further, and we start throwing around hateful rhetoric that we can't take back. Of everyone here, I believe I am the most capable of understanding the way that those creatures move and how they operate. You would understand, Karkat, if you spent time actually researching other species to gain a more comprehensive fundamental perspective on the way hoards work instead of biting off other people's heads before they have a chance to speak."

Karkat made a face at him, groaning in disgust before facing Jake. “What makes you so fucking sure that those damn creatures won’t start seeping in through the walls and kill us all? If we hunker down in the basement, we’d be trapping ourselves with no way out. It'd be like 'hey creatures of death that absolutely want to eat our flesh and pick their teeth with our bones, let's round ourselves up like sheep and all stay in the same area so you don't have to break a goddamn sweat.'”

“I already said, if they don’t have prey, they’ll lose interest. They’ll think everyone in here is dead or escaped and leave.” Jake said, trying to hold his own resolve to stand his ground. Kankri held his observations and research higher than anything else and Karkat had a reputation of being too stubborn to change his mind. 

“I fucking doubt that.” Karkat rolled his eyes and returned to his post by the window firing another shot at the creatures. Meantime, Kankri picked up a book that he had, scouring through the pages for some information he had gathered on the creatures, probably trying to decide if he should be using a shot gun or a missile launcher. 

“They will, I know they will. If we stay up here, we’ll all end up dead!” Jake raised his voice, conveying the earnest desire he had to get everyone to safety. Another screech filled the air around them and Karkat took the brunt of the sound. He staggered back, clutching at his head, hanging onto the support of Kanaya, who came to his side immediately to prevent him from falling.

“You will die if you stay up here! What don’t you understand?” Jake said, feeling a sense of dread seeping into his veins from the mere knowledge that the more time they spent exposed to the hellion angels the more people were going to be affected if not worse. Considering the information that the demon had given him, it was illogical to keep fighting. With a sure way out, or at least a way to survive, it made sense to get down to the safety of the inner walls and wait for Dirk to take out the horrorterror’s master.

“Come on guys,” John piped in, dropping his usually cheerful lilt to his voice to back Jake’s seriousness up. “Bring your ammunition and everything else down to the basement. We can’t stop them from getting into our heads here but we can block them if we get to safer ground. Jake knows what he’s talking about, I know he does.”

John made eye contact with Jake and gave him a quick smile, nodding his head. That affirmation helped Jake take a deep breath and make one last plea with the hunters standing before him. “Please, for your own safety, get downstairs with the others. I want as few casualties as possible and this is our only option. You are all going to have to trust me.”

The hunters looked at each other, looking for a final word from Karkat as Kankri seemed to paralyzed by the sound to speak for once in his life.  His head had raised and he was locking his eyes on Jake, as if he was trying to calculate something or read off of him. Jake kept himself firm, standing by his word and putting all of his faith in the plan that Dirk had set him off with. The hunter sighed and straightened himself up, still keeping one arm around Kanaya.

“Fine,” he said, standing himself up from off the wall and locking an intense gaze on Jake. Kankri grabbed a bag that he carried with him and walked ahead of the two, exiting the room. Before they completely passed Jake, Kanaya stopped the two of them.

"If this plan of yours fails, you will be the first to be fed to the demons." Her voice was level, the gravity of her words lingering in the air. 

“It won’t,” Jake said with enough confidence in his voice to prevent any trembling. She nodded silently to him and made her way to the cellar. Jake let out a quick exhale before turning to John and telling him to guide them downstairs. “I’m going to make sure everyone else is safe.”

John made an attempt at a protest, but was met with a quick shake of the head as Jake gave him one quick glance as a plea to let him do what he needed to. John left his side after mouthing the words “be careful” to him, and turning to run to the “safe zone”. Rounding the corner, Jake saw a few hunters slumped over while others were just woefully staring up at the sky. Going over to the ones that were conscious first, Jake roused them from their trance, telling them their only hope was to get downstairs to safety Some of them responded well right off the bat, getting to their feet and helping other hunters up, whereas others were far gone mentally enough to be considered beyond help. However, Jake wouldn’t let them go unattended and instructed anyone fit enough to carry more than themselves to also help with those who were unconscious or otherwise incapacitated.

It took another five minutes or so before those who could be snapped out of their trances were up on their feet and making there way to the “safe zone” but things were finally in motion. John and Dave both came back up at intervals to help the unconscious ones down the steps. Jake’s heart was pounding in his own ears, shaking with a deep set anxiety that would crowd deeper against his mind with every cry that pierced through the air. He had trusted a demon to save a group of humans; it was probably the most naive and ridiculous idea he had ever gone through with. He doubted each and every one of his actions since the attack began and one horrendous thought after another kept repeating in his mind as he made his way down to the cellar and sat among the hunters.

 

_“What if he tricked me?”_

 

_“Will any of those other hunters ever come out of it?”_

 

_“Do we really have any hope?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suggested song listening: Never Back Down by Nine Lashes
> 
> I'm not a good writer but I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. If you have any suggestions or constructive criticism, please leave a comment below!


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